A friendly fisherman piloting his small vessel off the coast of Italy made the catch of a lifetime over the weekend — reeling in a roe deer who had somehow gotten himself lost far out to sea.

Enrico Di Francesco was about a half-mile out from the port village of Giulianova when he spotted what he thought was a floating tree trunk. It was only as he drew closer that he was shocked to discover it was, in fact, an exhausted animal who seemed very much in need of a helping hand.

Fearing that the deer might drown, Francesco decided to give him a lift back to shore, so he hoisted him aboard the boat.

Francesco alerted authorities and headed back to port with the deer. After snapping a few photos, as is custom with such memorable catches, he handed the deer over to wildlife officials, who released him back into the forest, reports CityRumors.it.Source